Rev. Cari Copeman-Haynes

For Reign of Christ Sunday, Rev. Cari preached on one of the parables of judgment, as found at Matthew 25:31-45. This “sorting” of the sheep and the goats by the Chosen One on the throne is an iconic text. It can invite “religious” folks into a self-congratulatory mode that is ultimately not very helpful for…

For our final Sunday of our Stewardship Season, focussed on God’s gift of “a future with hope,” Rev. Cari preached on 1 Thessalonians 1:1-7. This earliest greeting of the epistles in the New Testament contains Paul’s first “go” at the three theological virtues. Relying on the work of the Rev. Dr. Rodger Nishioka, whose presentation…

For the third Sunday in the season of Stewardship, Rev. Cari offered this reflection on the parable of the 10 Attendants waiting for the bridal party. The story is found in Matthew 25:1-13, and it is a challenging and tricky parable to interpret! So in addition to identifying the two major pinches of this parable,…

For the second Sunday in our Stewardship Season (and also All Saints Sunday) Rev. Cari preached on the Beatitudes. She preached against the expectation that this text is somehow, like the 10 Commandments, “rules for living.” In fact, these descriptions of what “blessed” looks like are just that: descriptions of the way the world actually…

For the first Sunday in our fall “Stewardship Season” Rev. Cari preaches on Jeremiah 29:1-14. This is the text our stewardship theme verse is from: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says Our God, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” v. 11 In…

For the fourth Sunday in Creation Time (and World Wide Communion Sunday), Rev. Cari preached on the Ten Commandments as found at Exodus 20:1-20. Cari opened up the whole setting of the giving of the Law, in her sermon, focussing on the sights and sounds of the story as the people of Israel prepare to…

For this third Sunday in Creation Time, Rev. Cari opened up with the question from Exodus 17:1-7: “Is Our God with us or not?” then turned to the Philippians text (2:1-13) to answer it. Thanks to her summer school course at VST with Dr. Cynthia Rigby, Cari opened up the doctrine of the Incarnation, exploring…

For the second Sunday in Creation Time, Rev. Cari jumps to the Hebrew Bible, to the ongoing story of the Exodus. She preaches today on a very timely text, Exodus 16:2-15, which starts with a major “whine-fest” on the part of the people of Israel. And of course, before she can go any further, Cari…

For the first Sunday in the fall season of “Creation Time,” Rev. Cari preached on Romans 14:1-12, a text full of Paul’s observations about the diversity (of menu, of practice) in the early Christian church. Of course, that diversity is still with us! Paul masterfully avoids “taking a side” in any of the differences he…

Holding Romans 4:20 to 5:5 in one hand and James 2:14-24 in the other, Rev. Cari answers the second Stump the Preacher request in today’s sermon. She digs into all the Hebrew and Greek words behind the English word “justification” to show how God’s purpose is the healing and renewal of all creation. If you…